
,D^3 



I 



UBRA^"*' 



u»- 



1 




00020^2^'"'' 



pH8J 



E 475 
.81 
.063 
Copy 1 




REMINISCENCES 



Cliattanooga Campaign. 



A Paper Read at tlie Reunion of Conapany B, 

Fortieth Ohio Vokmteer Infantry, at 

Xenia, C, August 22, 1894, 



SERGEANT ISAAC C. DOAN. 



RICHMOND, IND. : 

PRINTED AT .). M. COF.'S PRINTERY, 
1894. 



REMINISCENCES 



OK THE 



Cliattanooga Campaign. 



A Paper Read at the Reunion of Company B, 

Fortieth. Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at 

Xenia, O., August 22, 1894, 



SERGEANT ISAAC C. DOAN. 



RICHMOND, IND. : 

PRINTKD AT J. M. COF.'S PKINTEKY, 
1894. 



yyjy 



/ 




REMINISCENCES. 



THE CHATTANOOGA CAMI'AKIN. 



iIlN a balmy autumn (la\' September iStli, i.S6_:;, wlule the ("liatta- 

nooga Valley lay nestled within its rugged mountain borders, bathed 
in the mellow rays of the Southern sun, the First Brigade, First Division 
of the Reserve Corps, broke camp near Crawfish Springs, and moved 
out along the Ringgold road. 

This brigade was composed of the T'ortieth Ohio, l-^ighty fourtii 
Indiana, Ninety-sixth and One Hundred-and-fifteenth Illinois Infantry. 

Late in the afternoon, just as the head of the column reached Chicka- 
niauga River, the sharp crack of a rebel picket gun rang out upon the 
air.- The column halted, and almost immediately we saw a mounted 
officer riding ra^jidly toward us from the front, the ranks opening at his 
approach. As he reached our company (H, Fortieth O. V. I.) he spoke 
to our Captain who at once gave the order: "Company 15, forward- 
double (juick — march ! " 

Upon reaching the head of the column we saw the dead body of a 
Union soldier, lying u[)on his face, his life-l)lood mingling with the dust 
of the road. 

We crossed the stream and deployed as skirmishers, while on our 
right was deployed a company of the Ninety-sixth^IUinois. We moved 
cautiously through the thicket until we reached a fence beyond which 
was an open field with stumjjs every few minutes, from behind which the 
Johnnies were firing salutes in honor of our arrival. We halted awhile at 
the fence and returned their compliments, when we were ordered to 
advance. 

We cleared the low fence at a bound, and made a rush for the rebel 
line of skirmishers, who gave a parting volley and showed us their gray 
backs, while we gave them every encouragement to go. We were then 
halted and lay down while one of our batteries jilayed over our heads, 
shelling the opposite woods. 

As it was nearly dark the firing soon ceased. I lay, for several 
hours, by the stump which formed my temporary fortress, occassionally 
hearing faint noises, as of some one moving stealthily. 



•* REMINISCENCES. 

/ kept mcakf ! About midni^lu it ^tcw still and 1 bc^'an to be 
decidedly lonesome and crept over to a stunip wliere I haii seen a 
comratle before it became dark — he was i^one. The skirmishers had 
been withdrawn silently, and I had been missed in the darkness, and 
was out in the enemy's country all alone. 

J went back for rfinforcements — cautit)usly, however, being fully alive 
to the danger of being taken for a rebel, and of falling a victim to 
mistaken identitw I liad only gone a few steps when 1 heard the cock- 
ing of a gun and the words " Haldt, who gooms dere." 1 sung out 
" Fortieth Ohio," without delay, for those Dutchmen of the Ninety-sixth 
Illinois had the reputation of shooting and then saying halt. 

I am glad they reversed the order in this instance. I was directed 
to advance, and told that 1 would find Company P. on their left : the 
companies having been retired a few paces and closed upon the left, 
which brought the Ninety-sixth boys in rear of my ])Osition. 

About daylight we were ordered l)ack to the brigade, then more 
than a mile in our rear. This was our first taste of the great battle of 
C'hickamauga, of which we were destined to draw a full ration a little 
later. It is significant that the Indian name " C'hickamauga " means 
" river of death.'' 

'I'he next day we moved out in two lines of battle and encountered 
the enemy at the same point. Our regiment, forming the left wing of 
the the front line, took jjosition behind the fence I have before men- 
tioned, and began a musketry duel with the rebels, who were behind the 
fence on the opi)osite side of the field. We fought there for an hour or 
two : the bullets rattling against the fence, knocking the dust into our 
eyes and making themselves generally disagreeable. I always like a 
bullet better when it is lying still, or going the other way. Several of 
our company were wounded; none I think were killed at this ])oint. 
Our CajHain was wounded in the foot, ami remo\ed from the field early 
in the action, leaving our Second Lieutenant in command of the com- 
pany, who directed me to take charge of the left flank, he remaining 
near the right of the company. This gave me the privilege of standing 
u|) and overlooking the work, instead of hiding behind the bottom rail of 
the fence as I felt very much like doing. 

< )ur company formed the extreme left of the line and in low ground, 
and the line passing over a small hill we could not see the right of the 
regiment. 

After the fight had been g(jing on for an hour or two, the rebels in 
our front raised a yell and < ame tearing o\ er the fence and across the 
litid towar<l us. This seemed to be our opporlunitv. and we < onnneiiced 
issuing them rations of lead as fast as possible. W hen looking tt) the 



IIIK, ( HA ir AN ()()(; A CAMI-AICN. ^ 

right \vc saw our wliolc liin.' on a r(.-gular slampcik' (lisapiicariiig into 
the woods as if 1)\ inaj;i( . I'oiir or fuc of us took trees and gave them 
another round " tor luck, " tor we agn-ed that it was a shame to run just 
as we had a chance to do some execution. We were rewarded by ^ 
withering cross-fire iVom riglit and lett, and looking around we saw the 
rel)els bearing down u|)on both sides of us. We were being enclosed as 
in the jaws of death. The regiment had ])een Hanked upon the right. 
A moviement that was concealed from us l)y the intervening hill. 

We wcn^ right mvay from there . We went through the Chickamauga 
with neatnes.s and despatch. 

.\s we emerged from the bushes on the west bank, we ( anie up(jii 
the ( )ne H undred and lifteeiith Illinois, drawn uj) in line, guns at a 
ready, a thou.sand eager lingers trembling u))on the triggers. We 
dropped and crawled between their legs, and while we were struggling 
through, the whole line ojjcned fire with a terrific volley. Had we been 
a moment later we would have got the full benefit of that volley, and this 
paper would never have been written. 

You may be sorry before I get through, but I'm glad I got through 
that line as soon as I did. 

Our line re-formed, but the whole brigade was forced to fall back, 
both flanks having been turned by a greatly superior force. The retreat 
was in good order, every foot of ground being contested for about two 
miles, when we were reinforced by the Second Ikigade and stayed the 
tide until dark. We lay on our arms all that night. Next morning we 
felt for the enemy all over the ground traversed by our forces the day 
before : but he had vanished from our front, (ione to swell the mass 
that was l)eing formed with the intention of crushing that immortal hero, 
(leo. H. Thomas. 

All that day we heard the stertorous breathing of a terrible battle, 
which was raging away to our right rear. About noon we took up our 
Hne of march in a .southwesterly direction, in a direct line for the point 
where the clamor of war was most incessant. We moved with great 
celerity through the forest and across the farms. No fences barred our 
progress, for the presence of vast armies for several days had rendered 
the country defenseless. 

We soon came across signs of recent contlict, disabled cannon, dead 
horses, mangled corpses, in both blue and gray, and all the bloody 
paraphernalia of cruel war. Many of the dead were torn and blackenetl 
and burned by bursting shell until the ghastly fragments were indescrib- 
ably shocking, and not at all calculated to encourage soldiers who knew 
they were just going into battle, and were candidates for a similar fate, 
with reasonable prospects of being elected. The hardest part of a battle 



6 REMINISCENCES. 

is goin^ into it. Miuh worse llian ^'uing out. 1 think any thoughtful 
man upon going into battle, must go with a deadly sadness at his heart. 
1 have seen the thoughtless and fool-hardy go in with a lauLjh and jest 
upon their lips, hut they were not nearly so u\){ to stand fire as those 
who advanced with i)ale cheeks and serious aspect, for these had antici- 
pated the danger and braced their nerves to meet it, and the shock of 
battle did not come to them as a surprise. 

Well, we were going into one of the most terrible battles of modern 
times, and many of us began to realize it by this time. Off to the 
south we could see the dense smoke of the battle, as well as hear the 
crashing of musketry and the booming of artillery, and the sliot and 
shell began to i)ay their respects to us in a " way we despised." 

We were hurried along the rear of the battle line toward the right 
of Cien. Thomas' command, which was sorely pressed. 

The firing of the musketry was so incessant that the ear c(nild not 
distinguish the separate discharges. Imagine a few luiiidred gushers, of 
the gas well variety, all turned loose at once, and you \\ ill have as good 
an illustration as you are likely to get in time of peace. 

We were not allowed time to contemplate the battle as si)ectators. 
IJrannon's division, holding the right, was being flanked by Longstreet's 
ten fresh brigades. 

.Already the troo})s on Hrannon's right were overwhelmed, and the 
enemy, llushed with \ictory, was charging down upon the rear of his 
position, when our two brigades were luirletl into the " imminent deadly 
breai h." 

It w(;uld seem as though every man realized that the fate of the 
array depended upon this (barge, and w itii the energy of desi)eration 
and ''a fury born of the impending peril, we charged the enemy," and 
though he "welcomed us with bloody hands to hospitable graves," we 
faltered not, until we had driven him back and formed «hm line extend- 
ing along "Horse .Shoe Kidge" — a name rendered historic by the 
carnage of that terrible Sunday afternoon, September 20th, i<S6 5. 

We were in two lines of battle, while the enemy was massed ten 
lines deep in our front, and this heavy force was thrown against our 
slender lines, in charge after charge of inconcei\al)le fur\ . .Xnd more 
than (jiK e during the afternoon our front line was driven bai k from the 
crest of the ridge, over the rear line whi< h was lying some thirty yards 
down the nortlurn slope, with baNoiiets fixed and " blood in their eye," 
and as soon as the front line passed over them, they would leaj) to their 
feet, and with a yell and nuirderous volley, right in the teeth of the rebel 
horde, w(juld hurl them ba( k as <iui( klv as they came, regain the vantage 



IIIK CIIAIIANOOOA CAMPAIGN. < 

grouiul upon the ridi^c, wIhIl' the otiicr hnc would he down and hold 
themselves in readiness to return the ( (tni])liuienl. 

In this wav, in a very little wliile, the whole hillside was thickly 
carpeted with the dead and dying of both armies. 'I"he blue and the 
gray intermingled in a frightful mixture of writhing agony and stark 
staring death. 

We soon, however, had our line firmly establishetl upon the ridge, 
and all the legions of Satan failed to prevail against us; so that night 
found us still in triumphant possession of it, but at what a fearful cost. 

The official report places the loss of our two brigades, in this 
action, from 2 : 00 V. M. until dark, at 44 per cent. 

These two small figures contain a pathos which my i)en has no 
power to ])ortray. We knew, liowever, that the enemy must have lost 
more men, as their ten lines furnished more food for powder than 
our two. 

If we overshot the front line our bullets had some chance of taking 
effect later on. And thus the massing of the enemy which would have 
told with fearful effect upon us, had they succeeded in breaking through 
our lines, became a source of heavy loss to them under the circum- 
stances. 

I have always been thankful that there was no Joshua i)resent to 
stay the downward course of the sun that day. For night found us with 
emi)ty cartridge boxes, though many had borrowed largely from the 
boxes of the unresisting dead, wdio had no further use for them. 

I fired eighty roiuids from my breech-loading carbine, and the 
cartridge chamber became so hot that I could not bear my hand upon it, 
and I was actually afraid the thing would shoot back in my face when I 
would put in a new cartridge. 

Night put an end to the great battle of Chickamauga. At once a 
defeat and victory for the Union army. A defeat, because we were 
compelled to fall back to prevent being surrounded by superior numbers, 
leaving the field, our dead, and many of our desperately wounded to the 
tender mercies of the most cruel enemy of modern times. A victory, in 
that Chickamauga, the bone of contention, remained in our hands. 

In good order we marched back to Rossville, about half way from 
the battle-field to Chattanooga. 

I had reason to be thankful for the moderation of the pace, for one 
of my shins had been used as a back-stop for an almost spent grape shot, 
and I became very lame before reaching our place of bivouac. I was a 
cripple for several days, and my limb bore a black spot for a month, 
but no pension was the result. It did not even leave an honorable scar. 

That night we took position on Missionary Ridge and awaited the 



8 



REMINISCENCES. 



approach of the enemy, which was distinguished for that caution with 
which the burned ( hild approaches tlie fire. l"or they did not strike our 
lines until about 3:00 1'. M. next day, ami then not hard enough to 
drive in tnir pickets. Mt)ntlay night, about midnight, we silently moved 
down off the ridge and tooly position in hastily constructed earthworks 
immediately around Chattanooga, leaving our picket line at the foot of 
the ridge on the outside, to throw dust — or something — in the eyes of the 
rebels as they felt for our pt)sition in the night. Next morning, seeing 
the crest of the ridge clear, llicy moved suddenly upon o'lr pickets and 
easily gobbled them ; as they had no chance for speedy retreat uj) the 
steep side of the ridge. This is one of the saddest of the fortunes 
of war — a picket line being abandoned, to certain capture, as a vicarious 
.sacrifice to secure the safety of an army. Our regiment had thirty-six 
men and officers — the remnant of Company H — taken in on this 
occasion, and they were given the freedom of the stockade prison — 
inside the "dead line" — at Andersonville, where they sj^ent the winter 
in the full enjoyment of the luxuries of that lamous place of entertain- 
ment prt)vided for them by fiends in human torm, whose wanton cruelty 
has made them the standing disgrace of the century in which they lived, 
whose inhumanity has no parallel in ci\ ilizetl history, and is not exceed- 
ed in the annals of siivaj:^c warfare. Our boys found the kind attentions 
and high living so enervating as to be positively unhealthy, for the fol- 
lowing spring only fifteen of them left it alive, and they were walking 
skeletons, half clothed in miserable rags. 

On the 22d our brigade took position on Moccasin Point, on the 
north bank of the Tennessee River, immediately op])osite the frowning 
brow of Lookout Mountain, where we guarded the river front and were 
at liberty to contemplate the rare beauty of this magnificent sjjecimen of 
mountain scenery. Two miles in height of mountain slope I clad in the 
many colored robe of autumn ; its base laved by the pellucid Tennessee. 
The songs of innumerable birds mingling with the rippling of the waters 
in a gentle roundelay — pun( tuated at intervals by the staccato notes 
of the festive rebel gun — fijlUnved by the not-to-gentle dropping of an 
ouiK e (jf lead uncomfi)rtabl\- near the venturous Nank who i>rolru(letl 
his head bey<jnd the bushes in order to enjoy the sylvan s( ene : remind- 
ing him that there is no rose without its thorn. 

This was starvation camji. fur a full nidiith wc were on less than 
cpiarter ratirjns, and the normal condition of the stouKu h was ravenous. 
We S(Jon (leaned the cornfiekl (h)wn to the last s])routed nubbin on the 
ground. 

After 1 hud been hungry for about two weeks, 1 struck a teamster, 
wIkj had some «orn for his mules ; and begged him for an ear. He 



I'lIK CH.A I I ANOOdA CAMI'AIC.N. '• 

dt'cliiied as tlic niiik-s were ovc r-uoikcd, liauliii;^ our rations omt s:\l\ 
miles of inouiUain road. 'I'liev were daily d\ iiig by sctjres, and liiere 
must be no lack of rations for those that were still able to |)ull. 

It was easier for a hungry soldier to pull a trij^ger, than for hun;^ry 
mules to ])ull a wagon load. My judgment accepted his reasoning, but 
my ajjpetite was not so easily c onvinced — so I bribed him with ten cents U) 
look the other way while I stole an ear. I ate it raw. It was good 
enough that way, and I was'nl i)roud. 

I hope the mides enjoyed what was left, as well as 1 eiijo\ed that ear. 

I have seen the boys dig the grains of (orn from the stiff mud 
where the mules had i'vd, and rubbing the mud off, eat them with<Mit 
])arching. They had the best of seasoning, a good ajjpetite. We often 
thought with the jioet: 

"The melancholy days have come, the saddest of the year." 

On the 27th of October we were ordered down to Urown's Ferry to 
co-operate with a force who, before daylight that morning, had glided 
down the river in a (leet of boats — rounding Moccasin Point, and slipping 
l^ast the rebel pickets without disturbing their rest, effected a landing at 
the Ferry, and constructed a ])ontoon bridge on which we crossed. 

Here we waited, to hail the api)roach of, and smooth the way for, 
(ieneral Hooker, who was moving up from Bridgei)ort, .Alabama, with 
the Eleventh and Twelfth C\)rps, driving the rel)els out of the valley 
south of the river, thus shortening our cra<ker line to twentv two miles. 

^Ve lay guarding the approach to the berry; and soon the \'eterans 
from the Army of the Potomac began to file past. At this the l)attery of 
twenty pounders on Lookout opened fire and rained their misshapen 
fragments of iron around us in a very intrusive manner. 

To be sure they were aimed at Hooker's men, and not at us, who 
were lying down ; and if any of us were hit it should not count. But 
unfortunately it did count with fatal effect to many a bra\e < onirade. 

The only sort of protection in our line was a large white-oak tree, 
some distance to the right of our company, and 1 viewed with envy two 
soldiers sitting on the safe side of that tree. 

I very soon ceased to grudge them the position ; for a shell burst 
close beside them, a piece struck a gun, drove the breei h pin through the 
knee of one of them, and sent the naked barrel humming over our heads. 
A large fragment struck the other man, tearing his arm off at the shoulder, 
causing his death in about twenty minutes. 

I was again reminded that there is no safe place in a battle. Pres- 
ence of mind is not so good as absence of body. 

This movement brought us full rations whereat we greatly rejoiced. 
We returned to our old (|uarters on Moccasin Point, and my bunk mate 



10 RKMINISCKNCES. 

;iiul I slept for the second night in a lioiise llial we had just spent a month 
in l)iiikhng. It consisted of pine poles tlrixen into the ground to form a 
stotkade pen about six teet S(|uare, thatched with pine-feathers. A 
hixiirious bed of poles attached u> the wall, pailded with a feather bed — 
(pine-feathers). A regular stone fire-place, with mud antl stick chimney. 
The roof consisted of the two sections of a dog tent. 

( )ur kit of tools was composed of a hatchet, that wasn't sharj) from 
one nil k to another. I hope I shall have your symjjathy when I say, 
that we were ordered down the river next day and never saw that dandy 
soldiers' rest again. 

We next went into cani|i in Ni( kajai k ('o\e — about two miles south 
of ShellMound. a station on the Naslnille <.\: ("hatlanooga Rail Road, 
where we built log cabins and again prepared our winter (]uarters. 

Not far from this camp are several large caves. One is known as 
Murrell's cave, supjwsed to ha\e been one of the hiding places of the 
celebrated "Land Pirate," John .\. Murrell, who for years scourged 
this part of Tennessee. 

A party of us visited this cave, found it for the most part a narrow 
tunnel through which flowed a shallow stream in which we had to wade 
a portion of the way — occasionally widening into chambers, here and 
there branching into lateral passages that wandered off into the vague and 
shadowy regions of the dark. Two of us turned back before the rest of 
the party, and as my comrade carried our only candle, I did not notice 
how short it was — until the others were beyond ear shot — when we made 
the startling discovery that we had not more than half enough to light us 
out of the cave. We made all the haste, consistent with the state of the 
roads and the preservation of our flickering light. lUit when we were 
yet some two hundred yards from the mouth of the cave the last drop of 
tallow was e.xhausted, and we looked ui>on that expiring dip, as a man 
might gaze upon the dying face of a friend. For it left us in total if not 
outer darkness. 

We read of a darkness that on( e fell upon Kgypt wlii( h was so thii k 
that it could be felt. Well I felt this darkness in my very soul. 

We dare n(jt mo\e for fear of follow ing some lateral passage and 
getting out of the usual line of tra\cl or of stumbling into some pitfall in 
which the cave abounded. Ibnv long we stood there 1 know not. Long 
enough U) indulge in .some very unpleasant c(jnjectures that the rest of 
the party might run out of light and not be able to return to us, or 
returning take sc^me other route and " i)ass by on the other side." Long 
enough to feel (onvinced that the S( rii)ture which says, "Men love dark- 
ness rather than light"' had no application to us. Long enough to 
remember all the stories we had ever heard of peoj)le lost in these caves, 



Till'. < iiA r I /\N()0(;a cami'aicn. 1 1 

until starvation lonnd tlu'in aiul claiiiicd tlirni toi- its own. Alter wc had 
bccouK' tlioroiiL;lil\ niiL-asv. we heard another parts' (oniini; in, making 
the usual lot ol noise, and it was onl\ 1)\ tin- luo^l diligent and vigorous 
use of our lungs that we got tluin lo < onie to our assislaiuc, for they had 
actually turned and started out wlnii tlie\ ha|i|Kned to gel still cn(jugh lo 
distinguish our shouts troin thi,' roaiing in iheii' own lil-ads. 

On emerging from the ( ave we |iro( urcd a supply of candles and 
started at'terour comrades w ho, just as we rea< hed the entrance, appeared, 
muddy and panting, with about a liaH' an in( h of ( andle in tht' party. 

They were a little wisei- than we were — about three lourths an inch. 

Under the mountain on the west (jf our camp Nickajack, was 
Nickajack ca\e, the largest in this region. I'pon the mountain above is 
the point where (ieorgia and Alabama join uiion the s(juth line ot 
Tennessee. So that within tlu' darksome winding passages of the (avern, 
you can become a tenant at will, of either of the three states. A gootl 
place to dodge tlie Sheriff. The (|uestion of jurisdiction would be a per 
plexing one and the dodger would have ample opportunity for keeping 
shady. 

No wonder the higliwayman, Murrell, had a fancy for this neighbor- 
hood. 

About a do/en of us got leave of absence for a day, provided 
ourselves with candles, jirovisions and hatchets, and set out for this cave. 
Near its mouth was an old saltpetre manufactory, dismantled by the 
rebels when compelled lo abandon it. The nitre was e)btained from a 
brown earth brought from the cave — said to be very rich. This cave is 
provided with tlie inevitable stream of water running through it. and tlie 
obvious inference is that this is the active agent in prothning the cave, — 
the stream providing itself a channel through the heart of the moun- 
tain by finding and dissolving out the softer portions, ^\'e entered a long 
fiat boat and were wafted by ])ush poles some half mile \nU) the cave 
where we foimd our stream issuing from beneath some rocks too low for 
the boat to pass uiuler. We accortlingly landed and began such an 
exploration as our limited time would allow. The cavity divides and 
subdivides into a vast number of passages which cross and recross each 
other, forming a net work of dark alleys that are very bewildering. 
Some of them are said to be over five miles in length. 

We selected one and followed it to the entl, marking with our 
hatchets each branch or cross road — so that we miglit return the same 
way without getting lost. Judging l)y the time consumed we must have 
traveled about three miles. In jilaces tlie ceiling came so low that we 
had to he down and walk like a snake a sln)rt distance, emerging into 
a vast hall, perhaps fifty by two hundred feet and from ten to thirty feet 



1- REMINISCENCES. 

hi^li. Tlu' < (iimtlcss heads of moisture hanging from tlie stone ceiling 
wimki Masli hai k our hghts with a sparkle suggestive of a <a\e of 
diamonds. 

Our route alternated hetween narrow winding passages and immense 
auilitoriums — where an ordinary tone would he exaggerated into a roar. 
In many of these the ceiling was hung with stalactite'--, resembling an 
inverted forest, varying from the smallest (|uill-like pendant — through 
all gradations of si/e to those that would weigh hundrids of pounds, 
which when struck sharply with a hannner would sing out in tones like a 
Cathedral bell. 

I gathered a fine stalac lite about the size and length of an ordinary 
lead pencil, a perfect cylinder in shape, pure white and hollow for half its 
length. I tried hard to ].reser\e it, but it was very frail and did not sur- 
vive the fortunes of war. 

We arrived at the end of our passage about noon, and there we ate 
(lur tlinner in a magnificent stone dining hall, in which a regiment could 
eat without crowding. It was shady and cool. 

Not far from where we dined was bat headquarters, where about a 
l)ushel of these nocturnal birds had their rendezvous. Some were hang- 
ing to the ceiling, others hanging to them, and others to them, &c., an 
inverted cone of acrobats. 

We took a can, we had just emptied of ])eaches, antl filled it with 
bats and took them into camp as living witnesses of our visit to their home. 
The first and last time I was ever engaged in the canning of meats. 

And now we turn our faces toward the outer world. We turn our 
backs upon the weird shadows, the damps and chills, the hanging forests 
of stalactite creeping down slowly and surely, their brethren of the stalag- 
mite persuasion as slowly and surely creeping up; promising a meeting 
which we cannot stay to witness. Leave behind us all the grandeurs 
(jf the cavern, both brilliant and gloomy. Leave them in their dungeon, 
to their " ways that are dark, " and turn toward the gladsome sunshine. 
'i'o the world of light and life and beauty. 

Never before did the day burst upon me with such splendor. Emerg- 
ing suddenly from our six hours of constant groping among the shadows 
of old night, and of wrestling with the powers of darkness, into the 
golden glory of a Southern day ; the brightness exaggerated by the con- 
trast, almost blinded us — and I realized, as never before, how blind we 
are to the beauty and grandeur of this old world of ours. .Accustomed 
t(; appropriate it as a matter <jf course, we fail to appreciate our j)riceless 
heritage. This warm-hearted mother earth which not only nurtures us, 
but bears upon and within her bosom the countless millions of extinct 
forms, which have been used as stepping-stones along the route through 



THF. CMAl'IANoOCA CAMPAIGN. 



IS 



all the ages leading up to us — and of all the iiinumcrablc multitude, both 
living and dead, she crowns us King. 

Let us justify her preference by opening the records that she holds 
for our inspection, and reading the story of life. The road may be rf)ugh, 
and the way may be long, but we shall reap if we faint not. We cannot 
fail of our reward, but shall gather of the treasures of knowledge, which 
science is ever ready to bestow upon lu-r devotees. 

Let her lead us down into the catacombs of the buried nations that 
have preceded us; interpret for us the handwriting upon the tombstones, 
and show us the fossil foot-prints of the fireat Creator. 

She will teach us nothing but (lod's truth. Under her guidance we 
shall find "tongues in trees, sermons in stones, books in the running 
brooks, and good in everything." 

Under her interpretation the "mountains and the hills siiall break 
forth before us into singing, and all the trees of the field shall ( laj) their 
hands." 

Let us now return from a contemplation of the inner treasures of 
earth to the struggle for existence upon its surface. 

On the morning of November 24th, 1863, we were again in front of 
Lookout mountain, I wonder if you are as tired of it as I was. 

We crossed Lookout creek upon a rude bridge composed of two logs 
laid across and floored with fence rails, the water of the rapid mount- 
ain stream boiling under the logs and gurgling among the rails — and ran 
our line by the right flank up the mountain side. 

Imagine a cloud-capped fortress with an army encamped upon its 
summit and another army climbing its rugged slope. Holding in one 
hand the trusty musket and with the other grasping bush, tree, rock, any 
thing that will assist the almost impossible ascent. Undismayed by the 
herculean task before them, undaunted by rebel yells above them, 
unappalled by the messengers of death that crash and howl about them, 
the blue line creeps up and up and up, until the cloud receives them out 
of sight, until the blue mingles with the gray in deadly conflict, — when 
the cloud is rendered vocal with the thunder of war, and such a storm 
cloud rages about the rocky coronet of old Lookout as earth has seldom 
witnessed. 

When our right flank reached the base of perpendicular rock which 
forms the crown of this monarch of East Tennessee, we faced to the front 
and swept the slope to the northeast, descending into ravines that furrow 
the slope, climbing the opposite bank with infinite labor. 

We make up for lack of speed, with yells, while the opposite mount- 
ain sends back the echoing battle cry, until the rebels afterwards captured 
said they thought there was a million of us. 



14 REMINISCKNCES. 

And so we charged the main works at " Whitehouse farm." The 
rebels driven from the slope, here rallied, and stubbornly contested our 
advance. From the top they dropped their bullets among us. The 
artillery upon the summit sent their iron missiles screaming over us and 
growled above our heads in impotent fury at their inability to depress their 
mu/zles so as to get our range. lUit we took the works on the run ; and 
in all, bagged over 2,000 prisoners. Down to the left and front was a 
redoul)t that was not carried with the rest of the works, owing to a deej) 
ravine intcr\cning, and we began indulging in some muskeiry practice 
upon the inmates wiiich they were reciprocating in kind, when our iMajor, 
Acton, stepped down into the ditcii where I was kneeling and proposed 
making an assault u|)on them. His light blue overcoat presented a 
conspicuous mark ; and I could hear the cruel zip of the bullets that 
sought his life; and pulling his coat told him to get down. At this 
instant I heard the fierce whack of the bullet that j^ierced his heroic heart. 
He threw up his hands, and his cry of mortal anguish rings in my memory 
still. I sprang to my feet and caught him in my arms, easing him down; 
as his body sank upon my knee, I felt his form quiver and become rigid 
in the death agony, and saw his face receive the seal of the king of terrors. 
There fell a true hero. Obedience to duty was his watchword. 

He had lived a noble life, and died an honorable death, and fairly 
won his promotion at the hands of our Supreme C'ommander. 

.\bout 4 P.M. we were relieved by the rear line who drove the rebels 
on past the Whitehouse, into the timber beyond, and there kept up a 
heavy skirmish firing half the night. Meantime we prepared a sumptuous 
repast of bacon and hard-tack — coffee was barred— some of the boys light- 
ed fires, but (juickly the order came "Fires out!" and they were encour- 
aged to prompt obedience by the dropping shot, which were attracted by 
the light, gleaming through occasional rifts in the cloud. 

We lay that night on the bleak mountain side, some 1500 feet above 
the surface of the Tennessee ; subject to the loving ministrations of a 
driving sleet, which, carried as it was on a wind with forty miles of clear 
swee|), felt sharp as needles to our faces. Happy were they who had not 
left their blankets at the foot of the mountain. 

Next morning we were aroused early and ordered to get breakfast. 
C'ompany I! being informed tiiat to it had been awarded the post of honor 
of leading the forlorn hope up the Sunimertown road, a narrow road cut 
through the rock leading to the top of the mountain, which would admit 
about four men abreast, and we figured that as we marched up, in the 
face of a desperate enemy, it would probably use up iIk- last man of our 
company before a landing could be effected. Under the protecting wing 
of a friendly cloud we built fires and made coffee, of which we stood in 



TUF. CMATTANOOCA CAMI'Alf.N. If) 

sore need, for, sore from yesterday's exertions, shivering in our l)reezy 
breakfast hall, as the chill gray dawn crept over us, and in the absence of 
the enthusiasm of the active assault, the i)ros[)e< t before us was anything 
but encouraging. 

Just as we finished breakfast the cloud rolled away, and the sun 
l)eering over the smoky mountains of North Carolina, gilded our mf)unt- 
ain top. 

My first thought was " sharp shooters," and glancing u|) at the top 
from whence the shots might be expected, I saw a little sfjuad at the 
extreme point, unfurling a fiag. With breathless interest I watched the 
opening folds of that Hag, when out upon the wind floated the grandest 
national standard that ever flapped in any breeze under the shining sun. 
That eml)lem dearest to every loyal American heart : the glorious Star 
Spangled Banner ! 

I lifted up my voice and yelled. At the same lime the whole mount- 
ain side resounded with huzzahs of joy and triumph. 'I'he one hundred 
thousand veterans in the Chattanooga Valley sent back the answer like a 
mighty echo, and there went up, tossed from crest to crest, and mountain 
top to mountain toj), a tremendous Yankee shout of victory, proclaiming 
in thunder tones the triumjjh of " the battle above the clouds! " 

The whole situation had experienced a change. The sharp-shooters 
were gone. We were relieved from that Summertown road business, and 
we held the key to the rebel position in front of Chattanooga. 

It is no derogation to the manhood of soldiers whose valor had been 
fully proved, to say, that the tears of joy coursed down over many a war- 
worn face. With surjjrising alacrity we were in line of march, moving 
around and down the eastern slope, our minds attuned to the enjoyment 
of the most picturescjue view I ever beheld. 

Before us lay the vast amphitheatre of the Chattanooga Valley. The 
broad shining river curving around the north of the town, flashing the 
sunlight from its bosom as it came, swept dow^n until it struck the bed 
rock beneath our feet, where turning sharply to the right it swept between 
the cliff and the great toe of Moccasin Point, then turning abruptly to the 
north, bathing the bottom of the gigantic foot as it went, turned the 
mighty heel at Waldron Ridge. 

The east and south bounded by the majestic crescent of Missionary 
Ridge, buttressed upon the west by the cloud hung battlements of Look- 
out Mountain, clad in the variegated paraphernalia of autumn foliage; 
the whole softly illuminated by the mellow radiance of an Indian sum- 
mer day, presented a picture that may be treasured in the memory as one 
of nature's masterpieces. 



IG 



REMINISCENCES. 



As we crossed the valley we liad the pleasure of witnessing the mag- 
nificent charge of the center as it moved out from the Hne of Orchard 
Knob, crossed the intervening plain, flowed with a resistless tide over the 
rifle pits at the foot of the ridge, and then, without orders, every man his 
own commander, surged like a huge swarm of blue flies up the rugged 
side of Missionary Ridge, while the half a hundred rebel cannon bellowed 
overhead, frescoing the air with the smoke of bursting shells. l>ut up 
they went hurling the rebels from their vantage ground upon the crest, 
and turning his own cannon upon him " s|)ed the parting guest," stamp- 
ing out the last vestige of rel)el claim to the Chattanooga Valley, and 
securing to the Union army permanent possession of this great "gateway 
to Georgia." 



9 /.ze Z90 Z00 



I 



\ 



/ 



.ov OF CONCKc^- 



\ 



,,^o.caHC.S 




00030^2^='' 



pemmlii^i 



